Man With Special Needs Left Alone After Field Trip To Methuen Park
LAWRENCE (CBS) - Jose Santiago of Lawrence is very distraught. The 29-year-old has cerebral palsy and is legally blind, so when he was left alone by his special needs program earlier this week he was frightened.
"I feel upset. I was crying in the park," Jose said. His mom says Jose has been a part of a program called Class Incorporated that takes care of people with special needs. On Wednesday they took a group on a field trip to the Methuen park.
When it was time for the group to go home, Jose remembered he forgot his bag so he went back to get it. When he returned everyone was gone. "All of them left me in the park," Jose said.
Jose was missing for nearly an hour. Police were called and he was finally tracked down a mile away from the park. "Nobody is perfect in this world but how can they leave someone behind," Jose's mother Rosa Santiago said.
Bob Harris, who runs Class Incorporated, says he and his team are devastated over the incident and took the necessary steps so it never happens again. "The staff were not paying attention and when they got back in the vans they didn't do a head count which is protocol. The staff that were involved are in suspension and will be terminated. We don't tolerate this, the care and protection of our individuals come first," Harris said.
Rosa Santiago, who's been bringing her son to class since 2007, says she is so thankful her son is OK. "Thank God nothing bad happened," Rosa said.
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